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<h1>Imperative Management of Kubernetes Objects Using Configuration Files</h1>



<p>Kubernetes objects can be created, updated, and deleted by using the <code>kubectl</code>
command-line tool along with an object configuration file written in YAML or JSON.
This document explains how to define and manage objects using configuration files.</p>









<ul id="markdown-toc">










<li><a href="index.html#trade-offs">Trade-offs</a></li>




<li><a href="index.html#how-to-create-objects">How to create objects</a></li>




<li><a href="index.html#how-to-update-objects">How to update objects</a></li>




<li><a href="index.html#how-to-delete-objects">How to delete objects</a></li>




<li><a href="index.html#how-to-view-an-object">How to view an object</a></li>




<li><a href="index.html#limitations">Limitations</a></li>




<li><a href="index.html#creating-and-editing-an-object-from-a-url-without-saving-the-configuration">Creating and editing an object from a URL without saving the configuration</a></li>




<li><a href="index.html#migrating-from-imperative-commands-to-imperative-object-configuration">Migrating from imperative commands to imperative object configuration</a></li>




<li><a href="index.html#defining-controller-selectors-and-podtemplate-labels">Defining controller selectors and PodTemplate labels</a></li>




















<li><a href="index.html#what-s-next">What's next</a></li>



</ul>


<h2 id="trade-offs">Trade-offs</h2>

<p>The <code>kubectl</code> tool supports three kinds of object management:</p>

<ul>
<li>Imperative commands</li>
<li>Imperative object configuration</li>
<li>Declarative object configuration</li>
</ul>

<p>See <a href="../object-management/index.html">Kubernetes Object Management</a>
for a discussion of the advantages and disadvantage of each kind of object management.</p>

<h2 id="how-to-create-objects">How to create objects</h2>

<p>You can use <code>kubectl create -f</code> to create an object from a configuration file.
Refer to the <a href="../../../reference/generated/kubernetes-api/v1.11/index.html">kubernetes API reference</a>
for details.</p>

<ul>
<li><code>kubectl create -f &lt;filename|url&gt;</code></li>
</ul>

<h2 id="how-to-update-objects">How to update objects</h2>

<blockquote class="warning">
  <div><strong>Warning:</strong> Updating objects with the <code>replace</code> command drops all
parts of the spec not specified in the configuration file.  This
should not be used with objects whose specs are partially managed
by the cluster, such as Services of type <code>LoadBalancer</code>, where
the <code>externalIPs</code> field is managed independently from the configuration
file.  Independently managed fields must be copied to the configuration
file to prevent <code>replace</code> from dropping them.</div>
</blockquote>

<p>You can use <code>kubectl replace -f</code> to update a live object according to a
configuration file.</p>

<ul>
<li><code>kubectl replace -f &lt;filename|url&gt;</code></li>
</ul>

<h2 id="how-to-delete-objects">How to delete objects</h2>

<p>You can use <code>kubectl delete -f</code> to delete an object that is described in a
configuration file.</p>

<ul>
<li><code>kubectl delete -f &lt;filename|url&gt;</code></li>
</ul>

<h2 id="how-to-view-an-object">How to view an object</h2>

<p>You can use <code>kubectl get -f</code> to view information about an object that is
described in a configuration file.</p>

<ul>
<li><code>kubectl get -f &lt;filename|url&gt; -o yaml</code></li>
</ul>

<p>The <code>-o yaml</code> flag specifies that the full object configuration is printed.
Use <code>kubectl get -h</code> to see a list of options.</p>

<h2 id="limitations">Limitations</h2>

<p>The <code>create</code>, <code>replace</code>, and <code>delete</code> commands work well when each object&rsquo;s
configuration is fully defined and recorded in its configuration
file. However when a live object is updated, and the updates are not merged
into its configuration file, the updates will be lost the next time a <code>replace</code>
is executed. This can happen if a controller, such as
a HorizontalPodAutoscaler, makes updates directly to a live object. Here&rsquo;s
an example:</p>

<ol>
<li>You create an object from a configuration file.</li>
<li>Another source updates the object by changing some field.</li>
<li>You replace the object from the configuration file. Changes made by
the other source in step 2 are lost.</li>
</ol>

<p>If you need to support multiple writers to the same object, you can use
<code>kubectl apply</code> to manage the object.</p>

<h2 id="creating-and-editing-an-object-from-a-url-without-saving-the-configuration">Creating and editing an object from a URL without saving the configuration</h2>

<p>Suppose you have the URL of an object configuration file. You can use
<code>kubectl create --edit</code> to make changes to the configuration before the
object is created. This is particularly useful for tutorials and tasks
that point to a configuration file that could be modified by the reader.</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre style="background-color:#f8f8f8;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4"><code class="language-sh" data-lang="sh">kubectl create -f &lt;url&gt; --edit</code></pre></div>
<h2 id="migrating-from-imperative-commands-to-imperative-object-configuration">Migrating from imperative commands to imperative object configuration</h2>

<p>Migrating from imperative commands to imperative object configuration involves
several manual steps.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Export the live object to a local object configuration file:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre style="background-color:#f8f8f8;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4"><code class="language-sh" data-lang="sh">kubectl get &lt;kind&gt;/&lt;name&gt; -o yaml --export &gt; &lt;kind&gt;_&lt;name&gt;.yaml</code></pre></div></li>

<li><p>Manually remove the status field from the object configuration file.</p></li>

<li><p>For subsequent object management, use <code>replace</code> exclusively.</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre style="background-color:#f8f8f8;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4"><code class="language-sh" data-lang="sh">kubectl replace -f &lt;kind&gt;_&lt;name&gt;.yaml</code></pre></div></li>
</ol>

<h2 id="defining-controller-selectors-and-podtemplate-labels">Defining controller selectors and PodTemplate labels</h2>

<blockquote class="warning">
  <div><strong>Warning:</strong> Updating selectors on controllers is strongly discouraged.</div>
</blockquote>

<p>The recommended approach is to define a single, immutable PodTemplate label
used only by the controller selector with no other semantic meaning.</p>

<p>Example label:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre style="background-color:#f8f8f8;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4"><code class="language-yaml" data-lang="yaml">selector:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">  </span>matchLabels:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">      </span>controller-selector:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;extensions/v1beta1/deployment/nginx&#34;</span><span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb"></span>template:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">  </span>metadata:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">    </span>labels:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">      </span>controller-selector:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;extensions/v1beta1/deployment/nginx&#34;</span></code></pre></div>











<h2 id="what-s-next">What&#39;s next</h2>
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<li><a href="../../../reference/generated/kubectl/kubectl/index.html">Kubectl Command Reference</a></li>
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